(Aizawa's POV)

It was past midnight when I finally arrived back at my apartment. Nemuri was outside waiting for me.

"You okay?" she asked as I approached her in the parking lot, "How'd it go?"

"About as well as you could expect." I muttered. I had worked off most of the anger by the time I got back, but there was still some rage lingering beneath the surface.

"Yeah, Hizashi filled me in on what he saw." she said, folding her arms, "Nezu's not going to be thrilled about what happened, ya know."

I stopped in front of her.

"How is she?" I asked, motioning towards the apartment.

She shrugged.

"She's asleep. She spent most of the time worrying about you, though. It took me forever to get her to relax." she said, "Honestly, it's like you two are practically joined at the hip."

"I'm glad she's asleep. I'm not in the position to talk about what happened at the station." I said, as I began to walk past her, "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime." she said, "And Aizawa?" I paused, "Try not to break that girl's heart. I can tell she's become quite attached to you. But remember, the mission is to get her back to her home world. Don't lead her to believe that this arrangement is permanent."

I didn't move for a moment as those words dragged me down further than I thought I already was. I was already feeling low from the anger that was eating at me, but now this? I had a feeling I wasn't going to catch a break tonight.

"I'm well aware of the mission at hand, Nemuri. I don't need a reminder." I responded quite irritably before continuing to walk into the building.

I didn't look back at Nemuri to see if she was still there behind me, moreso out of fear that she could see in my eyes that I was already too attached as well.

The more time I've spent with Doe, the more it became impossible to ignore my feelings for her. Adding the intimacy only made it harder to acknowledge that I no longer had control over my own emotions when it came to her. Turning back and staying strictly professional no longer felt like a real option. It was more of a facade for my colleagues. Sometimes I wondered if what I was doing made me just as villainous as the people I sought to put behind bars. It certainly didn't sit well with me that I was actively lying to both Doe and my coworkers. The only hope I had was finding a way for her to stay, that way I wasn't lying to either of them.

But, in the end, I chose this. If things didn't go well, I had no one to blame but myself.

Once I unlocked the door and made it inside, I was greeted by a very enthusiastic Cloud, who immediately rubbed up against my leg upon arrival. When I looked around, I saw Doe asleep on the couch. On the table next to her was an empty bottle of sake, and two empty sake glasses.

I shook my head.

Of all the things she had to do to get her relaxed, drinking was not a way I approved of. I picked up the empty bottle and growled.

'Why did it have to be my Longquan Daiginjo sake?!' I thought. I was saving that for a special occasion. What occasion, I really wasn't sure. Still, the audacity to drink all of it so frivolously...

Just then, Doe began to stir as she slowly looked up at me.

"Shota?" she asked very slurred, eyes halfway open, "Is that you?"

Her cheeks were flushed, as she had trouble sitting up properly.

"Yes, I'm here." I said, kneeling down in front of her as I helped her sit up, "How much have you had to drink?" I asked. Last thing I needed was for her to have alcohol poisoning.

She thought for a minute.

"Five glasses?" she answered, unsure of her response as she began to giggle.

"Five?!" I repeated, shocked by the number, "Have you any water to drink or any food?"

She looked up in thought and nodded.

"Mmmmmm yes! Nem'ri gave me water b'fore I got sleepy." she slurred yet again. I sighed in relief. "You're not mad at me, are you?" she asked, her voice filled with worry and hurt.

"No, no. Not at you, at least." Nemuri, on the other hand, very much so. "Let's get you to bed." I said, as I picked her up bridal style.

She let out a playful yelp and giggled. Honestly, even though I was worried, her inebriated state was kind of adorable.

"Ooh! Finishing where you *hic* started earlier?" she teased as I carried her to my room.

"Not with you like this." I said with a chuckle, "You need to sleep and sober up."

"Awwwwww! But I was so excited!" she playfully whined as I kicked the door open with my foot.

"I'll have plenty of time to get you excited," I walked her over to the bed, "when you're sober."

I gently laid her down as she sighed contently to the softness of the bed.

"Promise?" she asked softly.

I pulled the covers over her and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"I promise." I whispered back to her.

I went to walk away, but she reached out and softly held my hand, causing me to turn around and look at her.

"Please stay with me tonight?" she asked, "Just for a little while?"

I smiled as I looked down at her pleading face, as the dim light from the hallway lit her soft features.

'Seriously, how could I turn her down?' I thought to myself.

I took off my capture weapon and set it aside before slowly crawling into bed with her. Her face lit up with an adorable smile as I snuggled up close to her, caressing her face with my hand. I couldn't stay the whole night, knowing that I had work to do for my students, not to mention, I don't think my body would be able to adjust to sleeping normally on a whim. But for a little while?

I could do that.

"Now, will you please go to sleep?" I asked her with a smirk.

She yawned and stretched for a moment before resting her head next to my chest.

"Goodnight, Shota." she said sleepily.

My heart burst a little hearing that, as I wrapped my arm around her, holding her close to me. I haven't heard someone whisper those words to me so lovingly in a very, very long time. And after everything that happened tonight at the station, the feeling of her warm, little body against mine was a welcoming feeling. Though I knew danger would likely rear it's ugly head at some point, right now she was with me.

She was safe.

And with that in mind, I could rest easy.

"Goodnight, Doe." I whispered back as I kissed her temple.

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Author's note: